Program in Epithelial Stem Cells and Regeneration

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The IRM Program in Epithelial Stem Cells and Regeneration works closely with Penn’s departments of dermatology, plastic surgery and ophthalmology. The ultimate goal of the program is to devise new treatments for diseases of the skin and cornea through the study of stem cells and regenerative medicine.

Discovery of stem cells in the cornea of the eye, which transformed the way corneal transplants are performed to treat certain types of blindness (Cotsarelis, et al.: Existence of slow-cycling limbal epithelial basal cells that can be preferentially stimulated to proliferate: implications on epithelial stem cells. Cell 57: 201-209, 1989).

ON THE HORIZON

Conversion of induced pluripotent stem cells into different cell types in skin and eye to treat disease through tissue engineering.

“Stem cell research is critical to developing new skin tissues and, ultimately, changing the way we care for devastating wounds.”

George Cotsarelis, M.D., is Director of IRM Program Epithelial Stem Cells and Regeneration, and Albert M. Kligman Professor of Dermatology. Dr. Cotsarelis discovered the stem cells in the cornea, which transformed the way cornea transplants are used to treat certain types of blindness.